Ofcom (Hansard, 19 April 2004)

§ 3. John Robertson (Glasgow, Anniesland) (Lab)
What recent discussions she has had with the chairman of Ofcom to discuss its work. [166142]

§ The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell)
There have been a number of contacts, both formal and informal, between the Ofcom chairman, board members and Ministers since Ofcom was established at the end of last year. I am now establishing a pattern of bi-monthly meetings with the chairman and members of the board.

§ John Robertson
My right hon. Friend will know of the excellent work being done in Glasgow by VIP On Air, the only internet and radio service for the visually impaired in Britain. Will she join me in congratulating Glasgow city council and the BBC on their support for the station? Is she aware that the visually impaired need an AM radio service so that their messages can be spread to visually impaired people throughout the country? Will she visit Glasgow, have a look at the radio station and see the excellent work that it is doing; and will she help me to secure the radio bandwidth that those people need from Ofcom?

§ Tessa Jowell
When I have the pleasure of visiting Glasgow, I will certainly accept my hon. Friend's invitation. I know that he has pursued this issue vigorously. A meeting will take place in two days' time, at which I hope outstanding matters will be resolved. My hon. Friend is right to stress the value of radio stations such as VIP On Air that develop the community radio network throughout the country.

§ Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove) (Con)
Has the Secretary of State had the chance during the parliamentary recess to read Ofcom's report, "Driving Digital Switchover" and consider the embarrassing flaw in the Government's arguments on switchover? She will be aware that the Government say that 95 per cent. of households must be able to receive digital signals before they will consider turning off the analogue signal. However, Ofcom points out that only three quarters of households will be able to receive a terrestrial digital signal, and not all the extra households needed to take that figure up to 95 per cent. will wish to buy a satellite dish. How will the Government meet their own targets?

§ Tessa Jowell
Yes, I have read the report, which I commissioned, and I recently received the parallel report from the BBC. Both reports are important in helping to determine the announcement of the date on which the analogue signal will be switched off. The hon. Lady's point is important, and it is a technical one. Essentially, Ofcom has made it clear during the past two or three years that it will not be possible to increase the reach of DTT—digital terrestrial television—which is one of our three digital platforms, until the analogue signal is switched off, allowing the release of the spectrum currently occupied by both the digital and analogue signals. She need fear no sinister effects at all. The matter is purely technical, and is now being taken into account in planning properly for upgrading the transmitters and making the announcement on the date of switchover in due course.

§ Miss Kirkbride
I have to say to the Secretary of State that that is more of a technical matter, and that the Government's plans for switchover seem to be in disarray as a result of the report. She will further notice 6 from the report that the American Government have gone forward with the requirement for all new television sets to have a digital decoder installed by 2007. By contrast, here in the UK, 19 million analogue sets have been sold in the past five years, and just 400,000 with digital decoder. Given what Ofcom has said about the time scale for meeting the Government's own commitment to turn off the analogue signal by 2010, can the Secretary of State confirm today that she will come forward by early 2005 with a detailed plan for how digital switchover will be achieved?

§ Tessa Jowell
The hon. Lady really should be more familiar with this policy than she is. On DTT coverage, as I have explained, the specific issue is the sharing of spectrum by the analogue and digital signals, with analogue interleaving. That is not something into which she probably wants to go more deeply, but it is a technical issue and—

§ Miss Kirkbride
Does the Secretary of State understand it?

§ Tessa Jowell
Do not worry, I am far too deeply into it. I do not think that the hon. Lady need worry about that. We will certainly meet the target, and the work for that is in hand. We will make an announcement on the date of switchover, and ensure—

§ Miss Kirkbride
When?

§ Tessa Jowell
We will make that announcement when the necessary work with the industry and broadcasters has been concluded. That is not a decision for Government alone but must involve the views of the British people, who have strong feelings, as expressed by the report. I hope that the complexity of the matter is not lost on the hon. Lady; the policy remains as stated and we will go ahead and achieve our plans for digital switchover with the full support of Ofcom, as set out in its report.

§ Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey) (Lab)
My constituency largely missed out on cable television, and our radio frequencies do not allow us to have AM or FM radio. Ofcom has announced a 5k range for community radio stations, but a poorer community such as mine on the isle of Sheppey does not have the necessary funding for community radio. Is there any chance of funding, either from top-slicing the licence fee or from Ofcom itself, so that community radio stations can be set up across the whole United Kingdom?

§ Tessa Jowell
That is a big ambition and my hon. Friend will realise that it is a potentially expensive one. However, the case for community radio has been well made through the pilots that have been running for some time and the benefits that have been extended to communities in the pilot areas. I hope that it will be possible to extend the range and network of community radio. The pace at which that happens will depend on the availability of resources, but my hon. Friend rightly points out that we have a spending round coming up, and the review of the BBC's charter is also to come.